


The Legend of Spyro: Blood Moon

by AlmostRomantic



Category: Spyro the Dragon (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Eventual Romance, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:53:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21896974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlmostRomantic/pseuds/AlmostRomantic
Summary: Spyro and Cynder have defeated Malefor once and for all, but a shadow still lingers over the realms, and the purple dragon of legend's strength will not be enough to stave it off. A new generation of Guardians begin to come into their own, ready to defend their world. Fight on, brave heroes, against that beautiful and terrible moonlight, so that we may once again see the sunlight.
Relationships: Cynder/Spyro the Dragon, Ember/Flame (Spyro)
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I've got a great idea! Let's hit pause on the project that I've been working on for five years and write a fanfiction for a game series that's over a decade old! Haha, isn't that a great idea?
> 
> Anyways. I got a mighty urge to get back to my writing roots and return to the world of Spyro. I do have an ulterior motive, though; I need practice with telling a concise story that doesn't drag on and on and on. I expect this story to be about 60-70k words long, provided I do a good job at keeping things concise. Only time will tell, though. I'm not gonna be putting a whole lot of polish on this either; I'll more or less be posting the first draft of each chapter.
> 
> Rated M just to be on the safe side. 90% of the story will be K, 8% will be T, and 2% will be M, for violence, language, and a few suggestive scenes. Content warnings will be posted at the start of each relevant chapter.
> 
> And by all means: feel free to review if you'd like, and be as scathing as you want; I can handle it, I promise.
> 
> With all that said: please enjoy!
> 
> (This story was originally posted by me on fanfiction.net)

The sun peeked over the horizon slowly, as though it was cautiously surveying the landscape below for any further signs of calamity. Apparently finding none, it sluggishly climbed into the sky, ready to dip back down behind the world at the first sign of trouble. The freshly-mended earth began to lurch back to life with the sun: birds began to sing their merry songs and blades of grass swayed gently in the breeze, as though they didn't have any idea that the threat of utter annihilation was averted with a mere handful of seconds to spare.

Atop an unsuspecting grassy hill, the air shimmered for a moment before bursting like an enormous soap bubble, depositing a tangled heap of purple and black limbs, tails, and wings onto the grass below. Neither figure moved, and for any unknowing observer, they appeared to be as lifeless as the rocks at the bottom of the riverbed nearby. The air meandered slowly past the pair, and the world continued to turn underneath them, just as it always had.

Nearby, a skittering trail was being trampled into the grass by handful of sets of tiny feet, gingerly making their way towards the disturbance. They darted forwards and then stopped, listening intently for any sign of danger, then moved forwards again. Before long, five mice peeked through the long blades of grass at the intruders into their domain: a black dragon and a purple dragon, both of whom lay haphazardly on the ground. None of the mice moved a single hair on their heads for an excruciatingly long time, but once the bravest among them had gathered enough of his nerve, he crept forwards and inspected the purple dragon closer. He stood on his hind legs and propped his forelegs on the dragon's neck, searching for movement.

The air reeked of ozone and burnt carbon, and so did the purple dragon. The mouse wrinkled his nose, and was tempted to turn around and leave the beasts where they lay and allow nature to reclaim their lifeless bodies, but a whisper of motion caught his keen eye and he scurried back to his friends, their hearts beating so quickly that one could call it a vibration.

The purple dragon inhaled, the movement almost imperceptible. The brave lead mouse rose up on his hind legs again to see the black dragon breathing as well, which sent a shudder down his mousey spine. He knew that both creatures were predators, but it simply wouldn't do to leave two defenseless creatures to weather the elements and whatever else may come their way.

The mouse turned back to his friends, gesticulating wildly at the dragons, before pushing past his fellow mice and urging them to follow him with as many squeaks as he could muster.

* * *

_Three weeks later._

Flame the dragon gazed forlornly at the rows of books in front of him, his tired eyes scanning the titles that were printed on the spines in search of something that didn't sound more boring than watching mortar dry.

The Guardian dragons had issued a call to all of the remaining dragon villages and towns across the world, seeking capable young dragons to take up the mantles of Guardians and experienced older dragons to serve as teachers to assist in educating the future Guardians had surprised everyone by putting out the call so quickly after the war against the darkness was over. A few dragons thought that the Guardians were being hasty, but others agreed that they shouldn't rest on their laurels.

There had already been construction projects started on various dragon temples to replace the ones that had been demolished in the war, and each of them needed a set of four Guardians, one for each of the elements, to train the students that would inevitably come to learn how to defend their world. Flame's daydreams had been filled with peering over exotic locales from his perch at the top of a newly-constructed temple, or fighting alongside three other powerful peers against some imagined monster.

Flame had been one of the many dragons to answer the call, but his initial exuberance at seeing the dragon temple for the first time had been cut short by the announcement that each of the dragons would be taking an entrance exam the following week. He had been caught up in sightseeing and spending as much of the money that he had brought with him as he could on trinkets and fried food, and thus had neglected to study at all until the night before the exam.

Realizing that he had been staring at the spine of _An Unabridged Guide to Beets and Beet By-Products: Volume 74_ for the last little while, Flame shook his head and walked a little bit further down the bookshelf in hopes of finding something that wasn't nearly as dry. No one had been told what was going to be on the entrance exam, which sent a vast majority of the hopeful students into an anxious tizzy. Sighing, he considered resigning himself to the fate that he had made for himself and going into the test unprepared, although the mere thought left a sickening feeling in his stomach.

A flash of color drew his attention to the end of the bookshelf, where a pink dragoness was standing. She rose up on her hind legs to reach one of the higher shelves, which stretched out her form in a lascivious display that Flame couldn't tear his eyes away from. She was fairly short in stature, but her hips, tail, and neck were perfectly ratioed with one another, giving clear lines for the teenaged dragon's eyes to trace.

In Flame's opinion, she was the exact definition of perfect beauty.

"You know, I'm pretty sure _I'm_ not gonna be on the test," the dragoness said suddenly, darting her eyes over at Flame. "You don't have to study me."

"Doesn't hurt to be prepared," Flame blurted out before he could stop himself. He felt his face heating up rapidly and began to worry about steam emanating from his scaly cheeks: a legitimate worry for a fire dragon.

The pink dragoness's brows raised slowly as she turned her head towards Flame, letting herself fall back down onto her front paws. She regarded the bright red Fire dragon for a moment before saying, "My name's Ember, and I'm not interested in a relationship." Her gaze darted to the floor for a split second. "Or a hookup," she added icily, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh," Flame said quickly, trying his best to not sound disappointed. "I'm not here for either of those things."

Ember drew her head back as though she was surprised. "Oh," she echoed. "Are you studying… beets?" She cocked her head to read a few of the titles in front of Flame.

Flame froze for a moment. A lie burbled up from his throat, unbidden: "Yeah; just refreshing some stuff before the test."

"Hm. They _were_ really vague about the things that were gonna be on the test," Ember said thoughtfully, sashaying her way over next to Flame and pulling out a book before he had the chance to read its title. She inspected the cover, saying, "Probably wouldn't hurt to learn a thing or two about beetroots, I guess. Did you know that they put beet juice in the raspberry ice cream here?"

Flame's brain locked up for a few seconds; after an entire childhood of the importance of honesty being drilled into his head, a large part of him was appalled when he said, "Yeah; there's not enough color in the raspberries, so they add a little extra color to make it look more like the berry." He wasn't even sure if what he was saying was true, but a little voice in the back of his head told him that he should do his best to impress the pretty dragoness. He sat on his haunches as casually as he could, but his shoulders and wings were as tense as he had ever felt them.

Ember nodded slowly, although her attention was focused on the book as she opened it to a random page. "Did you also know that-"

"I didn't study all week and now I'm freaking out because I'm gonna fail the test tomorrow," Flame blurted out, interrupting the pink dragoness. His cheeks burned slightly, and he swore that he saw a little bit of steam coming from the smooth scales on his face. The little voice inside of his head told him that he was a moron for telling the ugly truth, but his shoulders and wings began to finally relax again.

Ember's brows raised again, although instead of being upset like Flame had expected, she burst out into an adorable fit of giggles. She shook her head, closed the book she had been holding, and slid it back into place on the shelf. Still tittering, she bemusedly said, "Dear ancestors, it's an _honest_ boy. I didn't think those existed."

Flame, entirely unsure of what to do or say, forced an uneven smile. "Thanks?" He said hesitantly, his smile quickly faltering.

Letting out a final giggle, Ember motioned with her head for Flame to follow her. "You're lucky that teaching is the best way to learn," she said, shaking her head as she led him between a different row of bookshelves. She made short work of picking out a few books and shoving them into his chest before looking for more. "Or memorize, I guess." After she had handed the red Fire dragon a hearty stack of books, she grabbed a few more that she carried under her arm until she stopped just short of a nook that was complete with a pair of plush cushions and a just-bright-enough lantern that sat on either side of the window that revealed the star-studded night sky outside.

"Now," Ember said, setting her stack of books down and hopping onto the cushion unceremoniously, "Let's see how much we can stuff into your brain in three or four hours."

* * *

_The next day._

Terrador shouldered open the door to the room of visions, his weary eyes regarding the other two Guardians that were milling about the small, circular pool in the center of the room. Cyril and Volteer's faces brightened slightly as their fellow Guardian entered the room, each of their eyes on him.

"Any luck?" Volteer asked, his voice as excitable as usual.

"There's a few solid candidates, although two have an edge on the others: an Earth dragon and a Fire dragon," Terrador said with a slow nod. He walked slowly over to the green cushion next to the pool of visions, sitting on it with a restrained grunt. Ignoring the old pain in his bones, he asked, "I take it you two found some that would fit as well?"

"Yes, yes-there's a brilliant Fire dragoness that didn't miss a single question on the exam." Volteer practically beamed, as though he was the one who had tutored her. "I spoke to her for a moment after the exam, and oh…" The Lightning Guardian closed his eyes and shook his head lightly. "The things I could teach her. So much space to put so much knowledge."

"Anyways," Cyril said, clearing his throat and raising a brow at his yellow friend, "I was lucky enough to find a delightful candidate that I think will do nicely: the Spirit dragon that Volteer kidnapped and, _ahem_ , 'interviewed' last week."

"Did I not tell you that that young lass was special?" Volteer said smugly.

"I'm not so sure that we should send so many dragons for this," Terrador pondered out loud, pointedly ignoring Volteer. "They will need to take remedial lessons once they get back, putting them at an immediate disadvantage from the word 'go'."

"Miss Ember won't need any remedial lessons at all," Volteer argued, waving a dismissive paw.

"If I'm thinking of the same pink Fire dragoness, then she will need _plenty_ of remedial combat lessons," Terrador countered, quirking a brow at the Lightning Guardian.

"There _is_ safety in numbers," Cyril added, nodding thoughtfully. "They would be able to watch each others' backs, and would be much harder to overwhelm with sheer numbers."

"Not to mention, they could fan out and cover more ground," Terrador nodded slowly. "I agree with Cyril. Four dragons should be more than enough to get the job done." Each of the other Guardians nodded decisively, indicating their agreement. "Each of us will send for our candidates, and all of us will meet here after dinner this evening. Should our four chosen candidates accept, we will send them in search of Spyro and Cynder first thing tomorrow morning."

With that, Terrador nodded towards his two fellow Guardians, and they all stood and headed for the door, a quick afternoon nap on each of their minds.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will be updated weekly at the very least; I've made it my early New Years' resolution to finish at least one 2k-ish word chapter each week, to be uploaded Friday night/Saturday morning.

Flame paced the floor of his dorm, his tail thrashing back and forth every now and then as his frustration and worry boiled over. His mouth hung open as he panted, and his tongue was very nearly lolling out of his mouth, seeing as his mind was too preoccupied with chasing its own tail to spare a thought about propriety. The young Fire dragon absentmindedly thought that he was glad that he didn't have a roommate to see him nearly losing his mind with worry.

_I'm gonna get kicked out,_ Flame told himself, as though thinking it would help him be adjusted to what was sure to be his new reality. _I'm gonna get kicked out of the Guardian program, and I'm gonna get sent home with my head hanging down in shame because I'm too_ _ **dumb**_ _to pass a stupid little test. Why else would the Guardians want to meet me? To give me the bad news in person?_

_Ember tried, ancestors bless her heart, but there's just some sorts of stupid that you just can't help,_ Flame's mind went on, the thoughts making his heart sink even lower into his chest. Hot tears brimmed the corners of his eyes, but they quickly turned to steam and floated away before they had a chance to fall down onto the soft scales on his cheeks. _Maybe there's an army somewhere that needs a stupid dragon that can hit stuff really hard, set stuff on fire, and not ask any questions,_ he pondered, before his train of thought was interrupted by a series of soft knocks at his door.

Flame quickly sat on his haunches and wiped his eyes clear with the back of both of his forepaws before trotting over to the door to his dorm and opening it. "What can I do for-" he started to say before the condition of the dragon in front of him stunned him into silence.

"Hey," Ember said with a small, somewhat sheepish smile. Her rear paw was raised off the ground, her previously-perfect scales were singed and dingy, and Flame thought that the area around one of her eyes was slightly swollen and purple. "How do you think you did?"

Flame shook his head for a moment to dissipate the surprise that had locked up his brain. "Uh," he said dumbly; the only things that he had thought about for the previous hour had been how he had _definitely_ failed, and how Ember's help hadn't saved him. "I think I did pretty good with the combat, I did okay with the strategy, and I'm not really sure about the written exam," he said, mostly truthfully.

Ember squinted slightly at him, craning her neck this way and that for a moment before giving him a stink-eye. "' _Pretty good_ with the combat', gimme a break," Ember muttered, rolling her eyes. "There's not a scratch on you!" She exclaimed, motioning towards him with a paw.

"Nuh-uh." Flame shook his head, turning slightly and lifting his wing to show a scale on his side that stuck up uncomfortably. "I got nicked with a swipe, and now this thing's gonna be a bear until a new one grows underneath it."

"You're such an asshole," Ember said with a hearty laugh, reaching out and shoving him in the shoulder. "You're supposed to say something like 'oh, man, it was really hard for me, I barely made it out alive' to make me feel better about getting my tail handed to me."

"Wait," Flame said, his fake half-smile falling from his face. "You mean you didn't take down the golem?" He hated that he felt relieved that someone as smart and capable as Ember had failed one of the three portions of the test as well, and thus wouldn't be considered for Guardian training.

"I did, but just by the skin of my teeth," Ember said with a relieved chuckle, unknowingly damping Flame's spirits. "I almost wish I could take the combat test again, now that I learned what sorts of attacks Terrador's golems use. I'm pretty sure I could pass it pretty easily now."

"Oh," Flame's wings drooped slightly despite his best efforts. His lingering hope that he would at least have some solidarity in his failure had been effectively squashed, but he did his best to put a pleasant smile on. "We should get you to the healers so they can get you fixed up," he said, his smile growing somewhat worried at Ember's condition.

"There's a line," Ember said, rolling her eyes. "Apparently I wasn't the only one that had trouble with the combat exam, and that's not even to mention the dragons that _failed_ it."

"Mm," Flame hummed sympathetically, sensing a lull in the conversation. Hooking the end of his tail around the door and taking a step backwards into his room, he said, "Well, good luck with your Guardian training."

"Thank-," Ember started to say, before her eyes narrowed at her new red friend. "What do you mean by that?"

"I meant good luck…?" Flame felt his guts start to twist themselves into knots. He had sincerely hoped that he wouldn't have to tell Ember, who had selflessly helped him study for hours on end the previous night, that he had failed the written exam and that her hard work had been for nothing. Yet, she stood in front of him, and something in the back of Flame's mind told him that the clever dragoness wouldn't let him squirm his way out of being honest with her.

"Well, I appreciate that," Ember said, dipping her head for a second without taking her suspicious gaze off of him. "Since we're both Fire dragons, I guess we'll sort of compete against each other… So it feels a little weird to say this, but good luck with _your_ Guardian training as we-"

"I failed the test and I'm gonna get kicked out and I appreciate your help _sooooo_ much but I'm just too much of an idiot to pass a stupid test so it's not really your fault that I failed I mean you did all you could-"

" _Hoo_ , boy," Ember reached out and clamped Flame's jaws closed with both of her front paws, snorting with mirth as she did so. "First of all, I think you're supposed to tell the truth to _begin_ with, but better late than never." She let out a titter, releasing the top and bottom of Flame's snout and bringing her front paws back underneath herself. "Second of all, did you actually check to see if you passed or not? They just posted the results fifteen minutes ago."

Flame's heart leapt into his stomach. "I don't have to check it to know how I did," he said morosely, and took another step backwards into his room and prepared himself for another hours-long pity party, but Ember hooked one of her paws on his horns and dragged him across the threshold and into the hall. "What are you doing?" He said, his temper beginning to rise. He appreciated her help the previous night greatly, but he just wanted to be alone to mope properly.

"We're gonna go see the results of the entrance exam," Ember said, turning and closing the door with the tip of her tail before extending her wing and patting her friend on the back. "And you're gonna come along even if I have to drag you by your tail," she threatened, flashing him a toothy smile.

"I don't wanna," Flame mumbled, stumbling forwards as he was not-so-gently patted on the back again.

"Facing defeat with dignity and grace is just as important as achieving victory with humility," Ember said, although Flame thought that it sounded like she was quoting something out of a book.

"I can't,' Flame argued, shaking his head vigorously and ducking out from underneath the pink wing. "I've gotta go meet up with the Guardians so they can kick me out themselves."

Ember blinked. "What?" She asked, stopping in her tracks.

"Terrador sent a messenger to my room, telling him that I needed to meet up with him and the other Guardians after dinner, which is supposed to end in, like, five minutes." Flame hung his head after he finished talking, unable to meet his new friend's eyes.

"Huh," Ember said, sounding surprised. "Well, I see one of two possibilities: either we both failed, or we both passed."

Flame glanced over towards Ember's paws, but shook his head and returned his gaze to the floor, sitting down on his haunches. "I don't understand."

"Volteer sent a messenger to me, and asked me to meet with him and the other Guardians after dinner," Ember said simply.

The red Fire dragon drew his head back in surprise and looked directly at Ember, forgetting to sulk for a moment. "Really?"

"Yes, really," Ember said with a titter, rolling her eyes. "Now come on; let's go see how you did."

* * *

Astrid sucked in a deep, calming breath as she stood in front of the large double doors that led to the room of visions, where she was supposed to meet with Cyril and the other two remaining Guardians. She hadn't been told why the Guardians wanted to meet with her, but she supposed that it had something to do with the fact that she was a Spirit dragon, or that she was blind.

Or perhaps both.

Shaking her head slowly, she stepped to the side of the doors and sat on her haunches, wrapping her tail around herself tidily and waited. She didn't hear any voices on the other side of the doors, particularly Volteer's; she swore there was no door that was capable of holding in the Lightning Guardian's rambling voice, and if she didn't hear him, then she supposed that waiting outside the room for everyone to assemble was just as good as waiting inside.

Astrid allowed her mind to wander, absentmindedly keeping her ears on high alert for a quartet of heavy, Guardian-sized footsteps. If Volteer's impromptu interrogation after she had handed in her exam was any indication, then the Guardians likely wouldn't be asking her any deep or interesting questions. _Yes, I'm really a Spirit dragon,_ she rehearsed inside her own head, her lips twitching as she went through her usual answers. _No, I don't have a specific breath ability. No, I can't just willy-nilly use any of the elements. Yes, I'm really blind. Yes, I can still fight just fine;I just can't read._

Twisting her mouth into something resembling a frown, Astrid supposed that her blindness might be the reason that the Guardians wanted to talk to her. A large, taciturn Earth dragon had helped her take the written portion of the entrance exam since she couldn't read or write. Perhaps she would have to have a partner that could read to her and write down any notes that she might need. Or perhaps she would be dismissed out of hand for her blindness, which was a thought that sent her stomach into a tight, wrenching spiral.

Then again, there was also the fact that there wasn't even a Spirit Guardian to begin with. There was a Guardian of each element at every temple, the biggest of which was Warfang, but Spirit dragons usually kept to themselves and their own shamanistic lifestyle. She was technically applying for a job that didn't exist, which was a fact that garnered her quite a few disapproving grunts from her family and teachers. Astrid didn't mind their disapproval, though; she wasn't sure that she could conjure up a more miserable existence than spending her entire life meditating, studying, chanting a dead language, and listening to the incoherent whispers of the Ancestors. She was fairly certain that she would enjoy being a tour guide for the city of Warfang than to become a traditional Spirit dragon.

The reverberations of heavy footsteps brought Astrid's attention away from the inside of her own head, and she automatically turned her head in the direction of the approaching dragon. The dragon's life force was sizeable, and although she wasn't sure how big the dragon actually was, they were definitely either a very small adult or a very large youth.

"Evenin', Miss Astrid," a rumbling voice greeted, which Astrid immediately recognized as the Earth dragon that had been assigned to help her take the written portion of her exam.

"Mr. Gravenstein," Astrid replied, a polite smile crossing her face. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise, but please: call me Graves. 'S a little easier to say," Gravenstein replied, and Astrid noticed that the large Earth dragon hesitated for a moment. "Are you meeting with the Guardians too?"

Astrid drew her head back in surprise. "I am, yeah. Are you?"

"Yup," Graves nodded.

"Oh," Astrid said, shuffling her wings slightly. "They're not inside yet, so I've been waiting out here for them."

Graves was quiet for a short moment. "Did you check?"

"Didn't have to."

"That so?"

"Yep," Astrid nodded, already growing bored of the small talk. "I can't see, but I don't need to. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure we'd hear Volteer from out here."

"Makes sense, I guess," Graves rumbled, and Astrid noticed a small inkling of awkwardness in his voice. "Mind if I sit and wait with you?"

"Be my guest," Astrid said, extending a wing to her side before folding it against her body again.


	3. Chapter 3

A ticklish feeling prickled Cynder's snout, rousing her from the depths of her slumber. She cracked an eye open and then shut it almost immediately with a strained grunt as a beam of sunlight bounced off of the cold mountain stream and hit her sensitive retina. She scooted herself further into the cave before attempting to open her eyes again, only to be greeted with a few dozen mice that were staring at her expectantly. Their beady, black eyes shifted this way and that, as though they were constantly looking out for danger.

"What is it this time?" Cynder mumbled, looking for the mouse that seemed to be the leader of the group. Upon finding him amongst the cluster of nearly-identical mice, he didn't point towards the mouth of the cave like she expected him to; rather, he pointed towards the interior, causing Cynder to raise a brow at him.

"Did you guys find a hibernating bear or something?" She asked, lazily getting to her feet and looking towards the interior of the cave.

The cave that the mice lived in was just barely spacious enough for a dragon Cynder's size to navigate comfortably. Its walls and floor were surprisingly smooth compared to the rocky countryside outside, although it was a lot more wet than she would have preferred. A thin sheen of algae covered a vast majority of the cave, with patches of bioluminescent mosses and mushrooms sprinkled here and there. The cave wasn't lit well enough to read a book, but Cynder wouldn't have stubbed one of her paws even if there was something to stub them on.

The leader of the mice scurried ahead of Cynder, looking back every now and then to make sure that she was following him. He led her deeper into the cave, and Cynder was about to complain about the tunnel growing narrower and narrower when she realized where she was being led. Ahead of Cynder and the mouse, there was a large hollow full to the brim of multicolored, brightly-glowing mushrooms. Mice that Cynder would hesitate to call shamans tended to frequent the hollow, although there was one resident that hadn't left the area since she had awoken, surrounded by curious mice: Spyro.

Cynder's heart wasn't sure if it should leap into her throat or crash down into her guts; the shamans had been tending to Spyro for the better part of a month, provided she had kept track of the days properly. As much as she hated to admit it, Cynder found her hope that her hero would ever wake up dwindling away with each passing day. The mere thought that saving the world had taken him away from her made her almost sick to her stomach, and with the leader mouse escorting her to the shaman's hollow like he was, she couldn't simply bury the possibility in the back of her mind like she usually did.

A flicker of hope threatened to make her think that Spyro was finally awake, but she shook her head almost imperceptibly. _Take each second as it comes,_ Cynder told herself, drawing herself up to her full height and poking out her chest confidently. _Whatever happens, happens,_ she mentally added, although a surge of anxious, worried emotion threatened to draw tears to the corners of her eyes.

The mouse's quick pace didn't allow Cynder to dwell on her thoughts for very long, and before she had realized it, she stood at the entrance to the hollow. Spyro lay in more or less the same position that he had been in for nearly a month, and Cynder could tell that the evening shift of healers had already replaced the afternoon shift. The half-dozen mice stood in equal spacing around the purple dragon, and each of them had their softly-glowing paws pressed onto his torso.

Spyro's left leg had moved slightly, and after a few seconds of looking over his form, she noticed that he was breathing a little more rapidly than he usually did. Cynder also thought that his tail was pointed in a slightly different direction, although she wasn't very sure. _No, wait; that one rock that looks sorta like a bird's wing was a little bit to the right of the tip of his tail earlier this afternoon,_ Cynder noted to herself. _He definitely moved; probably had another dream or something._

She was about to ask the lead mouse why he had brought her to the hollow when she noticed him standing in between two of the mouse shamans, hopping up and down and pointing at Spyro's face.

Spyro's half-lidded eye moved from the mouse in front of him towards Cynder, whose own eyes began to shimmer with tears. Her heart, upon receiving good news, jumped into her throat with so much force that she was momentarily worried that she was going to choke. She mouthed the purple dragon's name, although no sound came out of her painfully-tight throat.

"Cynder," Spyro breathed, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Did it work?"

Cynder tried to respond, but the words didn't come. Instead, she simply nodded. She knew that her face was screwed up into an ugly mask of overflowing emotions, but she was so happy and relieved that she didn't care very much. If the shaman mice hadn't still been surrounding Spyro, she would have pounced on top of him and hugged him for the rest of her natural life. She forced the impulse down and found herself dancing from one paw to another, suddenly unsure of what to do with her wings.

"I'm glad you're okay," Spyro said, his voice a little bit louder. His single opened eye finally moved away from Cynder's face and regarded the beings that surrounded him. "Mice?"

Nodding, Cynder let out a nearly-hysterical giggle. "They've been healing you," she said, almost forgetting to mentally kick herself for letting her voice crack so much.

Spyro's brows furrowed. "How long has it been?"

"Don't worry about that," Cynder said, a little too quickly. Spyro's eye widened a little bit, but Cynder simply shook her head again and placed a paw on his neck. "All you need to worry about now is getting rest," she cooed, stroking the dusty scales behind his jaw.

"I've gotten enough rest," Spyro said, shifting slightly. The shaman mice opened their eyes and scurried away from the sudden movement, their little hearts beating visibly in their furry chests. Before Cynder could chastise him, though, a pained grunt escaped Spyro's throat, and his limbs went limp again as he slumped back onto his side. "Maybe I need a little more rest," he mumbled.

Cynder allowed herself a giggle, although the sound was tinged with worry. "It's all okay now," she assured, glancing at the healers and nodding. The hesitantly moved back to Spyro's side, and after a few furtive glances around his body, closed their eyes and pressed their tiny hands onto his scales, which began to glow again after a few seconds. "There's no one left for us to fight, and there's nobody that needs saving," she continued, laying down with a relieved smile. "We're finally done."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Spyro's mouth as his eyelid slowly closed. His breathing became slow and regular, and a peaceful look rested upon his face.

* * *

Flame and Ember walked side-by-side down the halls towards the room of visions. Flame was surprised to see the halls deserted; dinner was over at the dining hall, and he figured that there would be dragons milling about and chatting on nearly every horizontal surface in the temple. Ember had simply shrugged when he verbalized his observation.

Just outside the doors of the room of visions, two dragons sat on the floor, neither of them talking. Both of them had glanced upwards as Flame and Ember had turned the corner in the hallway, and Flame had waved with a wing, but only the green Earth dragon had returned it. The small white dragon, who was about Ember's size, simply stared at the two of them, cocking her head as they got closer.

"How many dragons did the Guardians call for?" The white dragoness said as Flame and Ember approached.

"Are you guys here for that too?" Flame said, cocking his head and glancing at Ember.

"'Meet us in the room of visions directly after dinner; there's something we wish to discuss with you'," the white dragoness recited. "Wonder if there's any more dragons coming." She pursed her lips, cocking her head for a moment. "There's something going on inside; we should probably head in. But first," she said, standing up and trotting in front of Flame and Ember, "I'm Astrid. Yes, I'm a Spirit dragon, yes, I'm blind, no, I don't have a breath ability, yes, I can still fight, and yes, I'll notice if you stare." She dipped her head graciously. "Good to meet both of you.

"I'm Ember," the pink dragoness said without missing a beat. "I'm a Fire dragon, and it's good to meet you too." She returned the shallow bow.

"Uh," Flame stuttered for a moment. "I'm Flame, and I'm also a Fire dragon." He glanced over towards Ember, who still had her head bowed politely, and wondered if it even mattered if he bowed. Deciding to err on the side of politeness, Flame dipped his head, trying not to notice that Astrid's eyes had a milky-white sheen, and he couldn't even tell what color her eyes were.

"And this is Gravenstein, although he tells me he likes to just be called Graves," Astrid said, extending a wing towards the large Earth dragon, who dipped his head in greeting as well. "Shall we?" Astrid pivoted on one foot, taking a single step towards the doors. As soon as the other three dragons began to move towards the door, the pearlescent white dragoness began to trot towards the double-doors. She reared up on her back paws and brought her front paws in front of her chest, before quickly spreading them apart and letting herself fall back down onto all fours.

Flame quirked a brow at Astrid for a split second before the doors to the room of visions began to open seemingly on its own to reveal a surprised-looking trio of Guardians. "Oh!" Volteer exclaimed, dipping his head for a quick second at the four young dragons as they entered the room. He and the other two Guardians sat down on the color-coded cushions that represented their element. "And all four of you are here! Excellent."

"We appreciate the punctuality," Cyril said with a short nod, a proud grin spreading across his face. "Let's get right down to business, shall we?" The assembled young dragons exchanged quick glances before nodding their assent, sitting down behind the empty red cushion and looking up at their elders.

"We've chosen the four of you because you excelled at one or more of the three portions of the exam," Volteer began, motioning with a forepaw as he spoke, "And before I go any further, bear in mind that this task is completely voluntary. Should you choose to do so, you may decline and go about the beginnings of your studies here with no repercussions, discipline, or hard feelings from any of us."

"If you choose to do this, you will have to take remedial classes and training to catch up on the things that you will miss," Cyril interjected. "Some of you more than others," he added, and although he hadn't looked at Flame when he spoke, the young fire-breather was positive that the Ice Guardian was talking about him.

"At any rate," Terrador interjected, causing Volteer's words to die in his mouth, "We chose the four of you to form a search party. We want you to seek out and bring back Spyro and Cynder."

Flame raised his brows in surprise. " _The_ Spyro and Cynder? They haven't shown up yet?" He blurted, causing the other three young dragons to glance over at him.

"Indeed they haven't," Cyril said, a somber look on his face. "We haven't had any sort of contact with either of them since Malefor's defeat, and we're beginning to think that they may have found themselves in some sort of trouble."

"Which is why all four of you will be going," Terrador said with an assertive nod. "I know that none of you know each other, but each of you will need to watch each others' backs and keep each other safe."

"Ember," Volteer said, looking directly at the pink dragoness, "You were chosen for your sharp mind and vast pool of knowledge. Use it well, to keep your allies from danger."

"Astrid and Gravenstein," Cyril said, looking at each of them in turn, "You were both chosen for your strategic minds; work together to keep yourselves and the other two out of danger before it has the chance to rear its ugly head." The Ice Guardian addressed Astrid directly: "And while I hope you don't have to use them, your healing abilities will be indispensable."

"And Flame," Terrador rumbled, his withering stare falling upon the young fire-breather, "You were chosen for your unrivaled prowess in combat. Be the spear of your friends, and cut down anything that threatens their safety." The massive Earth Guardian rolled his shoulders and drew himself up to his full height. "As long as each of you plays to your respective strengths, there will be nothing that can stand in your way."

The room fell silent. Flame tried to swallow, but his mouth had become completely dry and he barely managed to choke down a coughing fit. He cautioned a quick glance over towards Ember, and saw that she appeared tense, but there was a certain fire in her eyes that had only seen when she had declared that she was going to help him study. Flame stifled a snort; it seemed like he and Ember had stayed up throughout the entire night studying weeks ago, but it hadn't even been twenty-four hours.

"Do any of you have any questions?" Cyril asked, sweeping his gaze among the assembled youngsters. Ember raised a forepaw, and he nodded at her to give her permission to speak.

"Do we have any idea as to where Spyro and Cynder might be?" She asked, using a tone of voice that Flame had never heard her use before.

"Ah," Cyril said with a knowing smirk, "Volteer and I have been working on a device that will be of some use. It should be ready by the time we send you out first thing tomorrow morning."

The young Guardian candidates exchanged glances, each of them wondering if the others had another question. After a few moments of silence, Terrador shuffled his wings and announced, "There is a room that the four of you can stay in for the night; it would be wise for the four of you to get to know each other before you head out tomorrow." The Earth Guardian thumped his tail against the stone floor twice, and a few seconds later, an old-looking mole scampered across the floor and gave a quick, deep bow to the assembled dragons. "Greta will show you the way."

"Both Cyril and I will be in the workshop for quite a while," Volteer added just as the young dragons had stood up to leave. "If any of you have any questions, comments, concerns, queries, or conundrums for us, feel free to stop by."


End file.
